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PC Perspectivehttp://www.pcper.com/images/podcast-logo-600x600.pngenMicrosoft Security Essentials Gaining Popularityhttps://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Gaining-Popularity
<p>OPSWAT, a company founded in 2002, has released it's <a href="http://www.opswat.com/sites/default/files/OPSWAT-market-share-report-march-2012.pdf">latest quartlerly report</a> on software market share. The new report indicates that as of March 2012, the free Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus application has made the biggest gains in users this year.</p>
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<p>Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus program developed by Microsoft that has been on the market for just over 2 years (since September 2009). Despite not having the best detection rates, it is a program that is non-intrusive and lightweight on resources. Because of the automatic updating (via Windows Update) and being essentially &quot;set it and forget it,&quot; it has garnered quite the following from tech enthusiasts that use it on their computers along with a bit of common sense browsing to stay safe. In addition, it makes for a good choice for family members as it is easy to install and requires little maintenance along with not costing any money. Also, If you have a friend or relative that refuses to pay for AV yet also refuses to stop visiting certain areas of the web, having some kind of free antivirus is better than nothing!</p>
<p>Specifically, the Microsoft software has managed to snag 10.08% of the worldwide antivirus market, putting it under the three big A's of antivirus: Avast with 16.26%, Avira with 11.65%, and AVG Technologies with 10.96%. Close behind Microsoft is ESET antivirus with 10.06%. Microsoft has increased their worldwide market share to 10.08% from 7.27% a year ago. They are further ahead of Symantec who holds 9.97% of the market.</p>
<table width="500" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" align="center">
<caption>Worldwide Vendor Market Share - March 2012</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Vendor</td>
<td>Market Share</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVAST Software</td>
<td>16.26%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVIRA GMBH</td>
<td>11.65%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVG Technologies</td>
<td>10.96%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Microsoft Corporation</td>
<td>10.08%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ESET Software</td>
<td>10.06%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Symantec Corporation</td>
<td>9.97%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kaspersky Labs</td>
<td>7.75%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>McAfee Incorporated</td>
<td>4.74%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Panda Software</td>
<td>3.77%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Trend Micro, Incorporated</td>
<td>2.22%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Others</td>
<td>12.54%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="rtecenter">&nbsp;</p>
<p>In terms of the North American market, Symantec actually pulls ahead of Microsoft, and holds the number one position at 16.09%. Microsoft then holds the second position in North American market share with 14.92%. The MS software saw big gains from last year, moving from fourth position to second position and 9.94% to 14.92% respectively. AVG holds third place at 13.22% while Avast has 11.96% of the North American market and fourth place. You can see the remaining top 10 vendors' market share in North America below.</p>
<table width="500" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<caption>North American Vendor Market Share - March 2012</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Vendor</td>
<td>Market Share</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Symantec Corporation</td>
<td>16.09%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Microsoft Corporation</td>
<td>14.92%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVG Technologies</td>
<td>13.22%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVAST Software</td>
<td>11.96%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ESET Software</td>
<td>7.06%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>McAfee Incorporated</td>
<td>6.76%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AVIRA GMBH</td>
<td>4.41%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kaspersky Labs</td>
<td>4.03%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Panda Software</td>
<td>3.49%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Trend Micro Incorporated</td>
<td>3.10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Others</td>
<td>14.96%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="rtecenter">&nbsp;</p>
<p>Drilling down beyond vendor market share to the specific programs' market share Microsoft Security Essentials holds 14.58% of the North American market as of March 2012. Also, MSE holds 9.96% of the worldwide market in March 2012. In terms of ranking, the individual software that is MSE is is number one in North America and second place worldwide. Microsoft Security Essentials holds 14.58% in North America and 9.96% globally, putting it just under AVAST! Free Antivirus which is the number one AV product worldwide with 11.91% of the market. These numbers are a bit more telling, as they indicate Microsoft is doing pretty darn well with their AV program, and it is really helping them (market share wise) to have just one main SKU/program in their lineup.</p>
<p>Interestingly, their report indicates that the top 10 antivirus makers hold the great majority of the market with 87.46% of worldwide market share. Of the top 10 (listed in chart 1) global AV vendors, only Trend Micro is a new addition at number 10 thanks to overtaking PC Tools with a total of 2.22% market share. The top 10 has further gained more of the total market compared to last year. In 2010, the top 10 vendors held 86.57% of the market, and they now hold 87.46%. Individual product wise, the top 10 companies' applications hold 64.94% of the worldwide market and 63.08% of the North American Market (this is for specific programs only, while the previous total numbers are for top 10 AV companies as a whole).</p>
<p>Further, OPSWAT states that the free offerings continue to dominate the charts with the most number of installations and market share. In North America, they identified 81 antivirus companies and 257 antivirus software applications. Globally OPSWAT detected 87 vendors and different programs. That makes the fact that the top 10 vendors hold approximately 87% of the market even more impressive. &nbsp;More information on the recent OPSWAT report is availabe in the PDF format <a href="http://www.opswat.com/sites/default/files/OPSWAT-market-share-report-march-2012.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Gaining-Popularity" target="_blank">read more</a></p>https://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Gaining-Popularity#commentsGeneral TechantivirusmseopswatsoftwareSat, 17 Mar 2012 18:01:09 +0000Tim Verry53874 at https://www.pcper.com